How Much Water Can a Vessel Hold?
by Kouhikouryuu
Summary: *gasp!* IT'S FINISHED!!! *screams* Oh yeah, the summary. Birdy and Tsutomu have to make room for one more...
1. More Like Hyper Complicate!

~~~~~~~*Birdy the Mighty*~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~*Birdy the Mighty*~~~~~~~~

~~~*How Much Water Can a Vessel Hold?*~~~

I haven't been keeping track at all, so I can't tell you what number fic this is. I've been writing all kinds of goofy things ever since I could write, and often call it my guilty pleasure, because if anyone knew what kind inspiration, passion, and life writing gives me, there's a good chance it would be taken away from me. I just jumped in with FF.net, and this is the first thing I've ever written for it. So I guess I could say, this IS my FIRST fic. No more mushy stuff...

Birdy the Mighty is pretty obscure so I'll give you a quick rundown. Its actual name is Tetsuwan Birdy. It's an anime about an intergalactic police officer who tracks down a mad scientist to planet Earth and in the middle of a battle, kills an innocent bystander, a young boy named Tsutomu. As some kind of plea bargain, Birdy gives her body to him so he can live as normal. When she is called to duty, she can take over Tsutomu's actions and take her body back. _When a character talks like this, it is in the mind, either as a thought, or the character is not on the outside._ For some reason I fell in love with this story, unfortunately, there's only a handful of episodes. Oh well. More for me to expand on. I don't remember all the names; so don't be surprised if I just start making them up. The names I did remember are property of US Manga Corps. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"RRRRR!!!! I'm telling you! Tsutomu is the only one who could possibly be taking my clothes! I don't know what he's doing with them, and personally I wouldn't be surprised if the dork were wearing them!" Hazumi angrily rummaged through her closet ripping empty hangers from the rack and tossed them across the room. She hated her brother with a passion, and knew there was something weird going on in his room.

"Honey, I'm sure that my little boy is straight, and he is NOT taking your clothes. Maybe you lent them to a friend and forgot." Tsutomu's mother shook her head. She knew something was wrong lately with Tsutomu, and she even might have heard a female voice, but she just put her fingers in her ears and denied the whole thing.

"I'm going to catch that creep, and beat him senseless for taking my favorite chenille sweater!" Hazumi pushed past her mother and across the hall to Tsutomu's room. The door was locked, and it was silent inside. "TSUTOMU!!!!!! GET OUT HERE NOW! GIVE ME BACK MY DARN CLOTHES!!!!

"Dear!!!! Don't be so harsh! Tsutomu, honey, we'd like to speak with you..." She gently knocked on the door.

"He even snuck out! Right now he's on the street wearing my clothes! Oh my gosh, my friends know he's my brother! I'm ruined!" she collapsed to her knees and cried into her hands.

~~~~*~~~~

_"Birdy! Hurry up! It's late morning and they've probably noticed I've gone! And you're wearing my sister's clothes!"_ A voice rang out in Birdy's head.

"Don't worry! I'm hurrying. As soon as we're in the window you can be you. The clothes are your department since you took them." Birdy snickered as she floated up the side of the house and pried the window open. 

Birdy was young, despite being a police officer, and still enjoyed the follies of being a teenager. She had gone out for a late night on the town, while Tsutomu was allowed to "sleep." The arrangement had worked for most of the time, unless Birdy was called to duty. Thankfully it was never in the middle of class. He would never be able to explain to Mr. Tanakawa on why he had turned into a scantily clad alien woman who fought interstellar criminals who experiment on the human mind. 

They had just gotten into the room when she plopped on his bed and crossed her arms. She bowed her head, and when she raised it, it was Tsutomu's, and when they stood up, her body turned masculine, and soon she was gone. Tsutomu regained control and quickly composed himself. 

"Gah! Birdy! You absorbed Hazumi's clothes! How am I supposed to return them!?!?" He felt around his body and bed and found that he wasn't wearing any clothes, and his sister's were gone too.

_"Oopsie. She'll get them back later. She always does. I'd put something on if I were you. There's a draft in here."_ Birdie yawned and soon went to sleep.

"Grrr." Tsutomu hastily grabbed a robe and covered up. "I hope no one heard you as you came in here. It seemed like you could wake the dead with the noise you made."

_"Ssshhh. Sleeping. Hee hee!"_ Birdy curled up and giggled to herself as she took comfort in his mind.

"Tsutomu!! I heard a lot of noise in there! Are you okay?" His mother knocked again.

"I'm fine mom! Just getting a late start this morning!" He ran to the door and unlocked it quickly. "Good morning! And how's my lovely sister this morning?" He smiled nervously.

"You have my clothes, Tsutomu. I'm going to get you. And if one thread is out of stitch, your head is nailed to my wall." She marched past him and burst into his closet. She tore everything down, and didn't find a single garment of her own. "You're lucky. But I will hunt you endlessly. And I will get my favorite sweater back from you." 

"Well, it's Saturday dear. Your day is free, but I want to see you back for dinner at 7." His mother waved and ushered Hazumi away from the door.

Tsutomu let out a huge sigh and sat back in a chair. "I don't think I could put up with that every single weekend. Birdy?"

No answer.

"Never mind." He took a quick shower and put on his own clothing. The day was his, and there were no insane space aliens to muck it up. Birdy was asleep, and he was still in good with his girlfriend.

~~~~*~~~~

Natsumi was the only one who knew the deal between Birdy and Tsutomu, and didn't know whether to curse Tsutomu for helping that alien fugitive, or to thank Birdy for sustaining his life. For some reason, she wasn't concerned about sharing him with Birdy. Either way, her darling was still alive in some way. She was surprised to see him that afternoon. "Tsutomu! What are you doing here? How are you?"

"I'm fine, Natsumi! Care for some time downtown? We could catch up on things..." A smile was on his lips as all his cares and alternate bodies floated out of memory.

"Sure! There's a new shop on Kiro Street. And it's my favorite kind, ice cream!"

Tsutomu instantly turned green. "No ice cream. Please. That's all Birdy ever eats. It's like she lives off the stuff. When she tastes it, I taste it. And she eats at least 5 flavors at once. No more ice cream. EVER."

^_^' "Uh, okay. We can just go shopping then." She grabbed him by the arm and whisked him away.

They had a usual day, as a normal couple, no space aliens, no police APBs, no extra cool battles involving touching live power lines. They had made it through most of the day, and then Birdy woke up.

_"*Yawn* Good Morning! What'd I miss? Oh, it's Natsumi. HI NATSUMI!"_ She called out to Natsumi in her voice, and waved Tsutomu's hand.

"Birdy must be up. Hi Birdy." She waved awkwardly at Tsutomu.

_"I'm in the middle of a date. Go amuse yourself for a while. And tell someone else to cover the beat today. I want to spend the day with her!"_ Tsutomu didn't want anything to go wrong today.

_"There's no one in this entire galaxy neighborhood but me. If something happens, I HAVE to go. Be lucky if I let you say goodbye. I'm turning on my signal. You can't hear it, but I'll give you some warning."_ Birdy said.

"Thanks a lot..." '¬_¬ Tsutomu tried to shrug off the comments, but made him slightly paranoid the rest of the time.

"What did she say?" Natsumi wanted to know what was going on in his head.

"Basically, Birdie's on call."

"Great..."

~~~~*~~~~

Their date lasted until 5 pm. Tsutomu was happy that he was able to spend as much time with her as he did, he usually didn't get more than an hour with her. He had just dropped her off at her home, when Birdy shouted.

_"We gotta go! I just got a call that an unknown threat has been spotted outside the city. It will most likely be something that humans will try to confront so we have to hurry. I'm sorry Tsutomu." _Birdy prepared them for transformation. Tsutomu tried to speak to Natsumi, but nothing came out.

"Tsutomu! What's going on? Why are you just standing there? Is that Birdy?" Natsumi tried to reach out to him.

Tsutomu jumped back quickly and gasped in pain. He quickly grew long white and pink hair, and his clothes started to absorb into him. His body turned feminine, and Birdy stood in his place. She hit a button on her wrist device, and her body armor appeared.

"Birdy! Why did you do that! Do you just take over his life whenever you feel like it?" Natsumi looked at her with vengeful eyes.

"I'm sorry. I have to go." Birdy didn't give either of them a second thought and leapt into the air. She was sorry that she had left so suddenly, but her work came first, and it seemed like an inconvenience at best to be sharing a body with a hormone crazed boy.

_"I didn't even get to say goodbye Birdy! The creature would still have been there."_ Tsutomu's voice was angry, and made Birdy slightly uncomfortable.

"That's true, but the fact is, if the creature kills anyone, I'm responsible. And I can't let that happen. I can't return home until I get rid of you, and I can't get rid of you if my record says '40 bystanders killed when maverick demon attacks city.' The more people that die, the more time I get to spend with you."

"_Birdy? What will happen to me when your sentence is over?" _Tsutomu was worried. Dying twice in a year wasn't the way to get into the Guinness Book of Records.__

_ _

__"I don't know. Two things might happen. You might die. I hope that doesn't happen. The other thing is that you'll be given a new body. But for that to happen, you'll lose all memory of me. I think that would be best for you. It would scar you for eternity to flashback into knowing you are also an alien police chick who hunts down the worst of the universe and fights them in hand to hand combat." Birdy kept her eyes on her tracker. "We're almost there."

They landed in a heavily wooded area that was slightly dark. It was unusually silent, except where she softly tread on leaves.

_"What are we looking for? I don't hear or see anything!" _Tsutomu strained to see through the trees.

_"I'm not sure. We'll know when we see it." _Birdy dared not say anything aloud.

They continued on until they spotted a young girl lying down under a tree. She was bruised and broken, breathing heavily, and barely conscious. She turned her head towards them and breathed a small whine. Her eyes were an odd white color.

_"She must've tried to confront the creature." _Tsutomu looked at the body sadly.__

"Wrong. She IS the creature. She is a symbiotic creature. It had to seriously hurt the girl to take over her body."

_"What are you going to do with them?"_ He wondered if she was even going to live.

"We'll see if we can heal her, and then we get the monster out of her." Birdy's wrist device glowed as a small portal opened over it. A menu shone in the darkness, and she selected a very large gun.

_"BIRDY, NO!!! You'll kill her!"_ Tsutomu tried to hold Birdy back, but couldn't even move her hand away. 

"I'm not going to kill her. First we have to heal her. If I try to remove the creature while she's this weak, it won't hesitate to kill her. If she's strong, she can fight it enough to reject it." Birdy aimed carefully and fired a clear beam at the child.

The beam started at the girl's heart, and moved outward. Her wounds shrank and disappeared, her bones shifted and fit together. The girl remained still for a minute, then discovered she'd been healed. She stood up and faced Birdy.

"My name is Birdy Cephon Alterra. I am an Intergalactic Federation Detective. You are under arrest. I command you to surrender or I will take actions to stop you."

_"Do they even understand-"_ Tsutomu was cut short as the child ran towards Birdy and tackled her with the force of a train.

Birdy was thrown backwards into a tree, and surprised when the girl quickly came after her, fists clenched and ready to plant them on Birdy's face.

_"WHY DID I SEE THIS COMINNGGGG!!!" _Tsutomu screamed as he was forced to watch Birdy get pummeled.

"Oh shut up." She quickly moved her hand around to grab the girl's hand and push her away.

The girl used Birdy's momentum to pull her away from the tree and swing Birdy off of her arm.

_"Okay, Sherlock. How do you plan to get the creature and not kill the girl?"_ Tsutomu sounded critical.

"I think I have one option left. You know my Hyper Resolve?" She turned and ran away to buy some time. The girl quickly gave chase.

_"You can't use that! She'll disintegrate the minute you touch her!"_ He watched as she pulled out the bright white ball and pressed her fingers into it.

"I'm not going to use it! Hyper Resolves don't work with human chemistry! It only works with alien DNA! And then it's harmful to any DNA but mine!" Birdy shouted. The ball grew tiny spikes and began to glow brighter.

Birdy suddenly stopped and faced the girl. She stopped too, and finally opened her mouth. Her voice was distorted from the mind control. _"Detective Alterra. I have done nothing wrong. I need hosts to survive. The child will not be harmed if you depart now."_

"Life forms out of the defined range cannot be controlled. Humans are low on the evolutionary chain, and must be left in peace."

_"Hey!"_ Tsutomu was insulted.

_"I see you have broken that rule yourself. You have two forces, Detective."_

"He is my ward and none of your concern. Earth is off limits to races outside of Andromeda space. Leave the child and surrender yourself." Birdy held up the Hyper Resolve. "Don't make me use this."

_"You would be willing to sacrifice the child?"_ The symbiote spoke quickly, and soon the child clutched her throat and gasped for air.

"You asked for it!" Birdy screamed and charged. She quickly grabbed the child's arm, and before they could attack, she slammed the Hyper Resolve into the girl's hand.

The girl's body began to glow, and Birdy's eyes turned white. The girl struggled to get away but couldn't get out of Birdy's grasp. The symbiote began to scream in pain, and reflected it in the child. Birdy ignored it, and pushed the pins of the Hyper Resolve deeper into their palm. Birdy could not understand why the symbiote had not tried to escape, and felt the Hyper Resolve begin to weaken.

"Time to speed this up a little bit…" Birdy took the Hyper Resolve's power and turned it into a painful shock. The entire area turned bright with her power. The girl screamed louder, and Birdy felt the shock coming back to her…

~~~~*~~~~

Tsutomu awoke from a deep sleep. Birdy was gone, and the child lay unconscious again at his feet. 

"Oh no…" Tsutomu lay back down and tried to assess the situation. "Birdy!! BIIRRRRR-DDDDDDDDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!"

His mind was completely silent.

"Rats." He sighed and tried to get up. He was incredibly sore, and found that some of his body had been burned like the last time she used too much power. 

He couldn't think of what to do with the child, and then remembered that Birdy could control him. He wondered if he could do the same. But he was human, and much weaker than Birdy. He finally decided he couldn't do anything, picked up the child, and headed home. He snuck in the door and hoped to God that he wouldn't be caught. 

He managed to get into his room and lay the girl on his bed. Tsutomu stood over her for a while and finally fell asleep on the floor. His watch beeped 8 o'clock. He was too tired to care whether his parents caught him or not. Hazumi could go to hell. He had just walked several miles into the city with an alien girl in his arms. He experienced more power than any human can dream of, and had already been dead and resurrected. No one could tell him anything. He pulled a blanket over himself and went to sleep.

~~~~*~~~~

Tsutomu awoke three hours later to three surprised faces. Mom and dad also had a slight look of worry. Hazumi looked as charming as usual. 

"TSUTOMU! Why are you on the floor? Who is this child? Why weren't you at dinner?" His father pointed to his watch.

"I'm not on my bed because she's there. She's there because I saved her from an accident. I wasn't at dinner cause I was busy saving her. I'm not sure who she is. She's been unconscious for the past several hours." He told a half-truth. All of it was true except it wasn't him doing the saving. "I'm fine, mom and dad. I just have second degree burns on a third of my body and I've passed out twice from exhaustion."

"Oh, dear…" His mom gave him a big hug. He screamed from the burns.

"Don't make like you're in pain. What have you been doing? You save children? You couldn't save a cat from a tree. Something is up! I'm telling you, mom!" Hazumi grabbed him by the collar.

"Grrr. Don't touch me, Hazumi. I'm telling the truth and nothing is wrong." He slapped her hand away.

"Why are you acting like this? You never act like this, Tsutomu." His mom looked slightly worried.

He was getting tired of his family and wished to clear up this entire mess. _"BIRDY! WAKE UP! WAKE UP NOW! BIRDY! PLEASE. GET UP! DON'T MAKE ME TAKE OVER!" _He began to growl in the back of his throat.

"Are you going to get me? Right in front of mom and dad?" Hazumi taunted and poked him.

"RRRRRRRRR!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" the frustration finally took over and he screamed loud enough to scare everyone.

His concentration focused on Birdy and he started to glow. His eyes turned white and began to morph into her. His hair lengthened and changed colors, he grew a few inches taller, and gained a woman's body. Birdy in full armor stood before them.

Mom passed out. Tsutomu's dad could only stare at Birdy's body. Hazumi shouted, "I knew you took my clothes!"

Tsutomu's voice changed into Birdy's. "This is why I've been missing. This is not "me." This is Officer Cephon Birdy Alterra. She saved my life. I as Senkawa Tsutomu am dead. As a plea bargain for her life, her commanding officer gave me my life back in her body. I think I'm part alien now." Tsutomu put his hand to the back of his head and laughed.

"You look good as a woman, son!" His dad tried to ease the tension. 

Tsutomu and Hazumi looked at him ugly. He shut up immediately and tried to revive their mother.

Tsutomu glowed again and came up with a stack of clothes in his arms. He tossed them at Hazumi. "I'm sure Birdy would say thank you if she were awake." He concentrated again and melted back into his regular body. "I have to wake Birdy up, so we can figure out what to do with this girl." He pointed to the unconscious child. "I wonder why they aren't awake yet."

"Why are you sharing the same body? Couldn't she have just given your life back without having to share?" Hazumi asked. "And just HOW LONG have you been 'dead'?"

"About four months. It hasn't been too bad except when Birdy drags me out of my warm bed in the middle of the night to battle intergalactic mad scientists. I think Birdy destroyed my body when she attacked me. She says we're too fragile." Tsutomu rolled his eyes.

"Um, riiiiigggghhhhttttt…" She went to help dad revive mom.

"Hmm. And somehow I feel much better. Now that that's done, Oh, BIRDY…" Tsutomu tapped his head.

Still no response.

~~~~*~~~~

He walked around. How am I supposed to wake her up? I can't get to her! I don't want to ask her commander. She'll probably get in trouble. Although she deserves it for using that Hyper Resolve…" ¬_¬ He quickly locked his bedroom door and opened the window. "Dang! What do I do about the girl? And how do I get down from a two-story building? This is really starting to bite."

He went over to the girl and felt her pulse. Strangely, there was one, but she also wasn't breathing. He looked down at his hand and his regular watch turned into Birdy's computer. He switched it on and blindly pressed buttons. Since he couldn't read her language, he'd just have to guess. He went through a menu of guns, ID's, names, and an odd array of what he thought was supposed to be food rations. He quickly went through the entire computer, with no success or clue. 

"Okay Birdy. You've slept long enough. I can't keep her here. Something's wrong with her. And who knows when that alien will wake up." He stopped talking out loud. _"Dangit Birdy. Don't make me come in there after you-"_ he stopped. If he could take her body, and she could take his, and they could communicate, then surely there must not be too much a partition between them. "Yes! Now how to do this… And she's not going to approve. Tough."

Tsutomu sat down at the foot of the bed. He closed his eyes, and used the same concentration that brought out Birdy's body. Nothing happened on the outside. Tsutomu felt a strange headache as if he'd been thinking to hard. A sharp pain hit his mind so that he quickly stopped.

"Grr! That wasn't it. This isn't working. How in the world am I supposed to do this!? Stupid human brain!" His frustration clouded his mind further. 

Tsutomu calmed down and tried again. "Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…" he stared at the ceiling and concentrated on the sound of his voice. All thoughts disappeared and he finally managed to hear it. A tiny voice, very faint, crying softly.

It didn't sound like Birdy. It surprised him and he returned to his normal state. "Jeez! What is going on in there!? Where is Birdy?" He turned around and looked at the vacant shell of the girl. "No! No no no no no!!!!! Anything but that! Her too?! GAH! I don't have enough room up there! Someone's got to go." He sighed heavily and tried to get her back.

He lay back again and concentrated. It was easier this time. He cleared his mind and the same soft crying. By focusing on it, Tsutomu was able to get closer to its source. He found a small spark, moving very slowly. "Who are you? You can't be Birdy. Where is Birdy?" He spoke softly.

"Who is Birdy? I can't get out! Help me! Please! Where are we?" the voice started crying again, and the spark moved away from him.

"No! No! Come back! I can help you! Please don't run away. Don't cry. I need you to help me too. Who are you?"

"I'm Sakuri." The spark replied.

"My name is Tsutomu. Sakuri, I'm looking for a woman named Birdy. She rescued us, and she's our only ticket out of here." He lied. Birdy probably didn't know anything about what was going on. And since she hadn't responded to him in several hours, there was a small chance she wasn't even alive.

"What does she look like?" she stopped crying.

He quickly thought. Why did she look like a spark? Why couldn't it be easy and they look like people? "Grrr. I'm not sure exactly. I guess she normally looks like a tall girl with pink and white hair. On the other hand she might be nothing more than a spark."

"I saw a very dim light, then you found me. But this all looks the same. I don't know where it is."

_ _"Rats! Why did all this have to be so complex?"_ He thought to himself. "Okay. I'll find her. I can't lose you so you'll have to come along. Stay with me, okay?" He reached out to the light.

Tsutomu looked at his own body and saw that there was nothing there but light. The other light touched him, and he was able to see her. He knew it was the same girl that was lying on the bed, but now she had a face and body.

"Tell me, what do I look like, Sakuri?"

"A boy, kinda short. You must be in high school. You have black hair. Brown eyes. Don't you know what you look like?" Sakuri said.

"Um, sure. It's just that I can't see very well in here, and I wanted to make sure you weren't afraid of me." He assured.

"Okay." ^_^ Sakuri wasn't sad anymore.

"I need you to help me. I need you to concentrate VERY HARD on the dim light you saw." There was no way he was going to find her by just 'walking' and looking around. He might as well try the asinine solutions first.

Sakuri closed her eyes tight and clenched her fists. Nothing happened at first, but when Tsutomu followed her and concentrated on Birdy, they felt an unearthly breeze blowing past them. When he opened his eyes, he saw Birdy. Her spark was very dim, and flickered sometimes.

"Oh Birdy!" He let go of Sakuri and 'ran' to what was left of his friend. He reached out to her, and her body formed. Tsutomu grabbed Birdy's shoulders and supported her head. She was unconscious, but breathing heavily. "C'mon! You still have your sentence to serve. You die, we both die! Please wake up!!"

"What's wrong with her? Are we all gonna die?" Sakuri looked panicky.

_"Why do children ask those kinds of questions?!" _Tsutomu hastily answered with a hollow "No." Then his concentration went back to Birdy. 

"Birdy, it's me. It's Tsutomu. Did you really shock yourself that hard? I need you." His thoughts jumped around. "Medical attention. No, that won't work, she's not human. I could shock her, that's not an option. Use that gun she used on Sakuri. No, I'd just be shooting myself. Another Hyper Resolve? She'd go into shock and die…" The random scenarios continued until Sakuri walked around him and sat beside Birdy.

"She's pretty. Can she really save us?" Sakuri touched her arm to see Birdy.

"I don't know. I think I have to save her first. I'm going to get help. I need you to do something very special. You have to stay with Birdy and keep her company."

"But what about you? I can't stay here by myself. You still haven't told me where here is."

"We are inside me. You're kind of like a thought now. I'm thinking about what's inside me. Birdy and you are inside me. Get it?"

"No…"

"That's okay. I swear I'll be right here all the time. You just won't be able to see me. All you have to do is shout real loud if you need me. If Birdy wakes up, I need you to tell me immediately. It's really important."

"Alright."

Tsutomu inhaled sharply and opened his eyes. He was back in his room, and only a few minutes had passed. He decided that with no mind to take over the alien couldn't do much with just a shell. He left her body on the bed and proceeded to try and climb out of the window.

~~~~*~~~~

He forgot about his transformation and fell two stories to the garden below. After groaning about his broken butt for five solid minutes, he made his way up the street. All he knew at this point was to find Birdy's ship in the junkyard.

When he got there, his task looked impossible. It was dark, and the amount of debris had tripled since last time he'd been there. "Birdy, if we get out in two respective pieces, you can have your life back. Putting up with you is just too much work." 

Tsutomu set to work on finding the pile of old cars with a silver ship underneath. It took him two hours, but he opened the car door to an old pickup truck and found a long hallway.

"This is absolutely ingenious, Birdy. Now, how do I start this thing?" He reached the ship's computer and stared at the 12-foot across panel. "I better not need all of this." Tsutomu began to blindly touch pictures on the panel. 

The computer started quickly, and showed the seal of the Intergalactic Federation Police. It took away the seal and displayed four menus. All were in Birdy's language. 

"Not again! This thing is too big for me to hit any button and not fire the laser cannons. Translate, blast you!" Tsutomu kicked one of the bottom panels.

The computer heard and obeyed. The panel went dark and came back up in Kanji. Tsutomu gave it a hard stare for a minute before he walked over to the wall and started banging his head against it. _ "If I knew it was going to be that EASY!" he growled. He brought up Birdy's watch. "Translate!" he spoke into it. Again, the watch went dead and lit up again in Kanji. "Well shoot. I'm here now…"

Tsutomu studied the panel for a few seconds. He decided he could only open a channel and hope that lion creature who spoke to Birdy would answer. The screen darkened, and lit with Commander Mikar sitting at his desk. Tsutomu breathed a small sigh of relief.

"This is Commander Mikar. How may I help you?" the lion didn't recognize him.

"Commander, It's me Tsutomu Senkawa. Birdy Alterra is my other half."

"Tsutomu? What are you doing using her computer? Where is Birdy?" 

"We need help. I think Birdy is dying. I can't help her. There's another person with me. I think Birdy saved her too, the way she saved me. She's keeping watch over Birdy. You have to help us. There's a symbiote alien in my room, and I can't get rid of it until Birdy wakes up and gets this child out of us."

The commander could only shake his head. "You've got all kinds of problems don't you? I told Birdy not to do anything to you and here you are, she's not here, there are aliens loose, there's a third person with you, and Birdy's got some serious explaining to do-"

"Don't be mad at her. She was fighting the symbiote, and it was killing the girl, so she used a Hyper Resolve. She used it against the alien's DNA, I remember it got very bright, and then everyone passed out. Haven't heard from her since." Tsutomu thought about leaving this part out, but it nagged at him that this happened even though Birdy said it wouldn't.

"I'm not sure what to do… Things are screwed up all over. I don't even understand how you're still alive. I need to do some diagnostics and ask her what the hell happened-"

"First Birdy has to wake up. Because she's in my mind, I can't do anything for her. The only thing I can do is this." He quickly morphed into Birdy. "A lot of good this does me. I wish I could put her outside so you could do something for her."

"Why do you have access to her body?" Mikar narrowed his eyes at him.

"Why did she have access to mine? I turned into her when I tried to scare my family." He changed back to himself. Being a woman felt wrong to him. Especially Birdy.

"If you can force her body to the top, then why not her mind? You somehow managed to cross the barrier between two entities, then you can manipulate her entire entity. I can revive her from here if you can just let Birdy be completely on the outside." Mikar opened his computer controls and took control of the ship. 

Lights flickered on, machines in the background began to hum softly, and the computer began to display more options.

"But Birdy can't control my mind, and she's a bit more powerful than I am. Isn't there something else that I can do?" Tsutomu sat down at the ship's control panel and began to think.

~~~~*~~~~

That's it for Chapter One. I really need to know what y'all think of this so I can keep this up or give up and call it a day. Comments and Flames alike welcome!


	2. Well That Was Easy Enough...

~~~~~~~~*Birdy the Mighty*~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~*Birdy the Mighty*~~~~~~~~

~~~*How Much Water Can a Vessel Hold?*~~~

~~~~~*Chapter Two*~~~~~

I'd definitely like to thank everyone who gave me such rave reviews when my first chapter came out. I was so scared (being extremely self-conscious and critical) that no one would like it. Me so happy! ^_^

If you're reading this without reading the first chapter, why? But, as a quick reminder, _When someone talks like this, it is because they are thinking, or are talking from the inside of the mind._

You'll also notice this part is a bit shorter than the other part. When I read, I read fics that are generally 2,000 words or less. I decided that this is the way I would like to write also.

And if sometimes the style gets kinda funky looking (i.e. too many lines being skipped, extra spaces everywhere), it's because my baka MSWord hates me and something happened in the uploading to ff.net. Please do not call me on it because I don't know how it keeps happening.

Disclaimer: Even though there's no possible way I could profit from it (except for a little self confidence about my writing abilities), Birdy the Mighty, all the names (save for the ones I forgot) and other assorted tidbits are the property of US Manga Corps. Huzzah. *throws confetti in the air*

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Commander Mikar went through his computer library for any other possible cases of this happening. No results. "Hey kid, you've set a new record. No one has ever managed to have two other conscious beings trapped inside themselves at the same time. Usually the person is dead because of the minds fighting over control, then the body is destroyed."

A large sweatdrop appeared on Tsutomu's head. "Birdy and I have a pretty peaceful relationship, and the child is too scared to do anything harmful. If the symbiote were to come in here, then there'd be problems."

"Tsutomu… Just where did you leave the girl's body and the symbiote?" A worried look crossed the commander's face as realization set in.

"They are in my room, unconscious."

"Tell me you locked the doors and windows."

"Well, yes, but I thought that since the Sakuri's mind wasn't in her body, there'd be nothing for the symbiote to control and would be imprisoned in an empty shell."

"Because the symbiote doesn't have to fight with a conscious mind, that makes it even easier for it to take over."

0_0 "MY PARENTS!!!!! And my sister! Well, never mind about my sister. But MY PARENTS!!!" He tried to jump out of his seat, but fell flat on the floor. "What now!?!?!"

"You're weakening. You're probably too weak to sustain two bodies and contain two other minds besides your own."

"BIRDY, I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU!!!" Tsutomu gasped as he pulled himself back into the chair.

"If Birdy is still alive, and all our options (all none of them) are exhausted, one thing you could do, but it's completely your choice."

"I don't like this."

"Give your remaining life energy back to Birdy."

". . . . ."

"After that, I don't know if we could bring you back, but shoot, if we did it once, we should be able to do it again!" ^_^'

¬_¬ "Very encouraging. Hey, maybe I could play Birdy for a while and do this myself! I bring in the alien, and with it out of the way, we fix this whole thing without worry!" Tsutomu transformed into Birdy and did a couple of quick punches and kicks before transforming back into himself and falling back into his seat.

"You're not trained to be a police officer. You don't know what you're doing. And if you get beaten senseless too, you ALL die."

*gulp!* "Never mind.. . . . .You'd better be able to bring me back."

"I'm not making any promises."

"How do I do this? Quick, before I change my mind."

"First, turn into Birdy. Then go and retrieve Birdy's life force. I wish I knew how the rest of it went."

"You've never done this before?!"

"Never had to."

"_BIRDYYYY!!!! Sakuri, has anything happened with Birdy?_"

"_No_." v_v Sakuri was starting to get a little bored in there all by herself.

"Commander, I'll just wing it. I need to get back to the house as soon as possible."

"If you think you can. And tell Birdy when she wakes up that she's just about up for a court-martial."

"You tell her that one." Tsutomu sat back in his chair and began his meditations. After a few minutes he found Birdy and Sakuri where he left them.

~~~~~*~~~~~

"Birdy, _you baka_, wake up!" He propped her up and held her hand. "Birdy, if you can hear me, I'm going to transfer my energy to you."

"Then where will you go?" Sakuri stood behind him.

". . . I'll wait here with you."

"Oh. Alright. Will you keep me company, or will you end up like her?" She was hoping for someone to help pass the time since she couldn't go anywhere.

"I'm sorry, but I'll probably end up like her."

"Oh…" She drew her knees up to her chest and started mumbling to herself. Something about wanting to get out of this freaky place.

Tsutomu concentrated on Birdy's being and on his own aura. At first nothing really changed until he gently blew the bangs away from Birdy's face. She stirred slightly, and he noticed a ribbon of light that moved from his mouth to hers. It disappeared as soon as he stopped breathing on her.

_"Well that's just great. I refuse to kiss her."_ He continues breathing the ribbon of light to her, and with each breath, he feels weaker and weaker. After about 5 breaths, he feels dizzy and collapses. He continues to breathe life into her.

Birdy took a deep breath and a thick ribbon passed from Tsutomu to Birdy. She sits up and looks around. "What happened? Tsutomu? Tsutomu?! Wake up!! Not again. I killed him again!! UGH!!" She pounds her fists on the ground and looks over at Sakuri. "Who are you?"

"Sakuri. How come he died? You weren't dead and he said he would switch places with you."

"I'm an alien and much stronger than he is. Where are we?"

"He said inside his mind. But I don't know where he is."

"I am so sorry. I'll try to get us out of this." Birdy lay Tsutomu down gently and flashed brightly. She was fully awake now and realized that Tsutomu had brought them back to her spaceship. 

"Detective Alterra!!! May I have a word with you?" Commander Mikar was still on the open channel and was staring directly at her with an angry scowl.

"Sorry, Commander, but I have a dangerous Symbiote to apprehend!" ^_^ She formed her armor and ran out of the door.

"Grrr…" Mikar closed the channel.

~~~~*~~~~

"_I don't even know where I'm supposed to be!!_" Birdy stared out into the darkness.

"_Tsutomu said that my body is back at his house. And the alien thing too._"

"Then that's where we go!" She took off running instead of flying since it was such a short distance.

"Ohh, I hope that thing hasn't woken up yet. That would make my job soooo much easier!" She finally arrived back at Tsutomu's home and made her way up to the window. She peered in, the soft light from the lamp on his desk creating adequate lighting.

The girl's body was still there.

"YES!" Birdy climbed through the window and checked further. The door was still locked, nothing had been tampered with. 

She approached the body slowly and checked for signs of life. It seems that nothing had happened in the span that Tsutomu had taken them to Birdy's ship. Birdy hefted the girl over her shoulder and flew back out of the window.

"All I have to do is set up a stasis field and throw her in, make a couple of transfers, hopefully get Tsutomu back… v_v … ^_^ I caught the bad guy, I caught the bad guy!" she sang.

"_Does this mean I can go home? My parents are probably worried about me._" Sakuri's voice was starting to get a little lighter since she sensed the end of this little adventure.

"Yep, you get to go home. But a little thing, just so you know now. You won't remember any of this. Can't let go running around, telling people that I'm here!" Birdy smiled.

"_That's alright by me_." Sakuri didn't sound the least bit disappointed.

"Then we're all set! … _Please, let me get Tsutomu back…_" It almost sounded like she missed her partner, but her thoughts of him vanished as they neared the junkyard, and her ship.

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Ah ah ah, don't look at me like that. This is by no means over! I still have one last chapter to go! More cliffyhangers to keep you reading! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Read and Review and Reel at my Fanfic powahs!! If you'd like, you can email me at holydramon2000@icqmail.com (waits patiently for her mailbox to burst into flames), or give me an IM at AIM. Look for Dragundam. =^.~=

And Gomen that it took so long! Shame on me! But take heart, as you are reading this, I'm working on chapter 3 whether you like it or not!


	3. But We All Know Nothing Ever Comes Easy.

~~~~~~~~*Birdy the Mighty*~~~~~~~~

~~~*How Much Water Can a Vessel Hold?*~~~

~~~~~*Chapter Three*~~~~~

Okay. Last chapter. It has to be. If it isn't, this fic will get incredibly long and no one will want to read it anymore. That is if everyone hasn't forgotten about it already. Can't think of anything witty to say that I didn't cover in the last two chapters. OOH! Before I forget, A SMIDGE of bad language from the Symbiote. That's why the ratings go up a step. Okay, bye!

Disclaimer: Neither the Manga nor the show belong to me. Sure, I bought a copy of the show, and I'd like to read the Manga, but I guess the ideas (or is it the concept?) of a pink and white haired intergalactic police officer that shares a body with a dead high school boy belongs to US Manga Corps.

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Birdy's fingers tapped at the controls with ferocious speed and accuracy. Alongside that, she shouted a string of commands and questions to the ship's computer.

"Find the Symbiote's point of weakness. What is the health status of the girl's body? How much longer before the Symbiote regains consciousness?"

The computer kept up with ease. "Symbiote is intertwined to the female's spinal cord. Health status is at 38% below normal readings and falling. Symbiote is claimed to not regain consciousness until host's mental capabilities are restored." It also provided a screen showing Sakuri's internal structure, with a long worm-ish creature braided rather messily into her back.

"_Eww. Is that me? That looks so painful, but it wasn't._" Sakuri had time to explore, and figured out that she could tap in and take a look at what was going on the outside.

"That's the way the Symbiote works. If it hurt, the host would get tired of it and end up killing themselves to get away from the pain. Just how did you find that it?"

"_I got lost. Not for very long though. Just maybe 15 minutes. I wandered away from a party my folks were having. It was so boring, it was either scream or leave. We live a little while away from where I found it. I'm going along, not really panicking about my situation yet, and I see that huge, funny-looking worm on the ground. I pick it up, and then I'm here with you and that weird guy_."

"Plausible enough." At least it wouldn't be hard when she did the police report. She picked the girl up from the medical table and carried her to the stasis field. The girl seemed to magically stand up and reach her arms out to the sides. "Sakuri, I think it's best you don't look at this part."

"_What are you going to do?_" 

"First we're going to try the gentle approach and see if we can't coax that thing out of you. Most likely that's not going to work. Then we're going to have to tear it apart, and you really don't want to see that."

"_Eww… You're not going to hurt my body, are you?_"

"_Ummm…_ No. _At least not that much…_" Birdy lied through her teeth. Birdy was a police officer, not a surgeon.

The stasis field rotated until Sakuri's back was facing Birdy. There was a hole at the base of her neck, and a long growth that went all the way down her back.

"_What do I do now?_" Birdy looked at her computer panel confused.

"_YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW?!?!_" Sakuri was panicked.

"Wait a minute, I'll figure it out!!!" Birdy scanned through her computer looking for more documents on this species of alien. She was relieved to find exactly what she needed, but grimaced when she found out what was required.

|| Species: Dugane (dew-gah-nay). Type: Symbiote. These worm-like creatures feed and live off of the bodies of species with complex intelligence. Highly intelligent themselves, they can be considered extremely dangerous. Once it has found a host, the Dugane will absorb all needed nutrients until the host is dead.||

"_WHAT?!?!_"

"Shh. I'm still reading."

|| Dugane cannot be removed from the host by physical extraction, as when it senses movement, the Symbiote will crush the host's nerve centers.||

Sakuri was crying her eyes out.

"Wait, here's the good part!" Birdy read on:

|| They can however be removed by _poisoning the body of the host_, making it impossible to for the Symbiote to absorb the required nutrients. The toxicity will drive the Symbiote out to search for other means of sustenance. The level of poisons needed have damaging effects on the host and are often times fatal.||

"… Never mind what I said about that being the good part."

Sakuri fainted.

"Well, that gets her off my back. Now what to do. I can't poison her, can I? Just what kind of poisons are we talking about anyway?"

|| Elements and Chemicals Toxic to Dugane: Iron, Chlorine, Carbon Monoxide, Hydrogen fuels.||

"Alright! And there's plenty of all those components on Earth! Except for the last one."

(AUTHOR'S NOTE: Birdy isn't a chemist either.)

"And Iron is a supplement in the human diet, so that's the one we're going for!"

(A.N.: Just to clarify, Birdy is NOT a chemist. Also, I don't think she's too well versed in human nutrition either.)

Birdy concentrated on where she could get safe levels of Iron, and immediately thought of Tsutomu's house. "His mother has all kinds of weird chemicals in her medicine cabinet! And it's just down the street! I'll be back in 10!" She left Sakuri's body in the stasis field and dashed out of her ship. 

Going at top speed, she was able to make it back to Tsutomu's house in under a minute. As soon as she climbed in through the window, she was caught by Hazumi.

"Look. I didn't know it was like that, Tsutomu. I'm not sure if I would've believed you at first. Wait, why are you climbing in through a second story window? And it's not helping me that you prefer walking around as a female. What else are you doing?"

"Wait, you know?" Birdy's confused now…

"Of course I know! You screamed like you were going to rip somebody's head off and then you changed into a girl! How could I NOT know!!"

"I did WHAT!?!" Birdy finally put it together. But how did he get to her form? And what ELSE had he done while she was out?! No. He wasn't like that. Knowing him, he probably spent the whole time panicking like a wussy. But then he did manage to get her back to the ship, and keep the girl safe…

"Look, I'm Birdy. Tsutomu is preoccupied at the moment. _Preoccupied with being DEAD._ I need iron and I need it now. Hopefully something that can be consumed by something little."

"Iron? What do you need that for?"

"To poison something. It's an emergency! Please hurry up! I don't want to have to look for it myself!"

"_Poison something?!_" Hazumi sighed and went to the bathroom's medicine cabinet. "You mean like this?" She produced a small bottle of vitamin capsules.

"YES!! THAT'S EXACTLY IT!!! THANK YOU!!" Birdy practically snatched the bottle from her and was gone as quickly as she came.

She arrived back in her ship almost out of breath. "I got it! I got it! I got it!!! Yeah! Hey Sakuri, open up cause- . . . Oh crap."

Sakuri's body was GONE.

After Birdy picked her jaw up from the floor, she asked the computer for help. "_I was only gone for 5 minutes!!!!_ Where is the body that was in the stasis field?!"

"The Child/Symbiote are closing in on your position from the lef-" The computer barely finished before the Symbiote tackled Birdy again.

"I THOUGHT YOU SAID THE SYMBIOTE WOULDN'T WAKE UP!" Birdy held the child at bay effectively by holding her forehead at arm's length.

"Claimed. She is claimed not to regain consciousness. Her health is also back to 100%."

The Child/Symbiote bit Birdy's hand to distract her. It took the capsules from Birdy and ran off. "Shame on you, Detective! Trying to poison an innocent girl!!" It laughed and disappeared down the hallway. 

"NO! NONONONONONO!" She took off after it and caught it before it reached the cockpit.

"Are you really foolish enough to endanger the child's life?" The child's back arched a little accompanied with a few popping noises.

"Well I was getting ready to poison her! What do you think!? Now give me the bottle!" Birdy lunged at her and missed by a few inches. The Child/Symbiote hissed and took off running again. 

"_Alright you little brat, let's see how far you get without AIR!!!_" Birdy linked her wrist console to the ship and turned off the air in the cockpit.

~~~~~*~~~~~

"_I've got her ship, now all I have to do is destroy it and then I can go finish lunch!_" It began to hack at the controls and ignite the engines. It was almost finished until it began to feel sleepy. "…Air. She cut off the air here. She'll pay extra when I escape!" It pounded at the door which (conveniently) it locked behind itself. Panic took hold and made it harder to undo the lock. 

"_Bitch!!! Okay, we can play that game! She forgets I have the advantage!"_ It dragged itself back to the controls and gasped over the PA. "Detective Alterra… You forget I have the girl's body... With her last breath, I'll kill her… *gasp* You WILL turn the air back on!!"

"Great. Now…? … AH!" Birdy ran to the main door as she restored the life support to the cockpit.

"_I'm out of here."_ With the air back on, it had the strength to get the door open. Birdy was there waiting for it, and grabbed Sakuri's neck as soon as the door opened.

"You WON'T escape again." Birdy looked it in the face and dragged it back to the stasis field. "I don't know how you got out in the first place, but that was the last time." She reset the field to keep them both in suspended animation and hoped it would hold this time. "Oh no. Where are the pills?!" Birdy raced around to find them, and found a small pile of powder on the cockpit floor. "I'll just have to turn it into an injection."

(A.N.: Oh no.)

Birdy prayed the Symbiote hadn't escaped again and cheered when it hadn't. "Now I can get this over with and we can go home- YOU IDIOT! YOU CONFESSED!!! If you weren't dead, I'd kill you! ....Sakuri, are you awake yet?"

Nothing.

"Good." Birdy put together the iron into a solution for an injection. She used what would be equivalent to 8 pills and hoped it was enough. _"Don't die, don't die, don't die..."_

"All life signs failing. Cardiac arrest and brain damage imminent." The computer chimed.

"NOOOOO!!!" Birdy tried to reverse the process, but it was too late.

The Dugane Symbiote released its tendrils from the girl's spinal cord and ripped it's way out from Sakuri's skin. It looked sick, and moved slowly.

"HEY! That's evidence, dammit!

The worm turned its attention to Birdy. It's tendrils shot out and grabbed her.

{{AN: For those of you that are hentai freaks, please remove brain from gutter and promptly clean with soapy water. -_-* }}

__

"Why isn't it dying?!" Birdy gave the worm creature a swift kick and watched it fly across the room and smash into the wall. The worm still wouldn't die, and only latched tighter to Birdy and drill its tendrils under her skin.

The fight continued on, mostly with Birdy trying to pull the worm's slimy fingers out of her skin and the Dugane putting them back. The Dugane was winning, despite the fact that it was dying.

"Cardiac Arrest in progress..." The computer said indifferently.

"Well stop it! GGAAACCKK!!!" The Dugane wrapped a tendril around her throat and tried to choke the life out of her. Two more tendrils lodged in her forehead.

"Sleeeeeeep..." Birdy smiled and closed her eyes blocking the fact that the Dugane slithering towards her... "NO! Kill this thing, and worry about sleep later!" A second wind kicked in and Birdy slammed her foot down on the Dugane just as it reached her.

This finally stopped the alien Symbiote as it collapsed under the weight of her foot. The tendrils dislodged from Birdy's skin and fell to the floor. Birdy followed them down, ignoring the computer's voice.

"Pulmonary functions shutting down. Circulatory system operating at 25%..." The computer went on, unaware that there was no one listening to it.

".... Restore life functions any way you can...."

"Restoring life functions. Removing foreign substance from body..." The stasis field lit up for a few moments and shut down again, letting Sakuri fall gently to the base. Her body was breathing, but that was it.

"_Bleh_..._" Birdy sat up and groaned. The Symbiote's tendrils had left marks all over her skin that felt worse than they looked. She looked around and saw Sakuri on the stasis field base and the Symbiote dead on the floor. "Yay..." she croaked.

_"Can I go back now?" _Sakuri was wide awake and watching over both Birdy and Tsutomu.

"Please go." Birdy crawled over to Sakuri and opened her wrist computer. With a few commands, she pulls a white ball of energy from her head and pushes it into Sakuri's.

Sakuri woke with a start and immediately began crying. "My back! It hurts!" 

_"Forgot to fix that first!" _Birdy materializes the healing gun she first used on Sakuri and fired it at her again. Sakuri's wounds closed up, and left her disoriented.

"What happened?"

Birdy quickly changes into Tsutomu. "I don't know. I found you here crying. Where do you live so I can take you home?"

Sakuri could've sworn she just saw a woman standing there... "I live on Okaido Street. Where are we?"

"The dump, believe it or not... Come on." Birdy figured she'd get rid of her first and get back to Tsutomu when there aren't any other disturbances.

After taking Sakuri home, she returned to her ship. She opened a channel to headquarters and prepared for a serious reprimand.

"Commander Mikar, this is Detective Cephon Birdy Alterra calling..."

"Birdy... I still want to know what happened. And have you revived Tsutomu yet?"

"No sir, I haven't. I have however apprehended and neutralized the Dugane Symbiote and spared the host's life. She remembers nothing. The only thing left is to write this reports, transport the Symbiote to the authorities, and revive Tsutomu."

"I can't exactly say good work, as you neglected the safety of Tsutomu. But you saved the girl, she remembers nothing, and the Dugane is no longer a threat. While I can't overlook the measures you took, I will restore Tsutomu and make sure your punishment isn't too severe.

"Sigh... Yes sir..." Birdy tried to keep composed. Her wrist computer interacted with the ship and in turn the HQ, and the little nagging thing (not meant as an insult ^_^') in the back of her mind regained consciousness.

"_Birdy_...." Tsutomu growled. "_What in the world...?_"

"He's ALIVE!!!!" Birdy danced around.

"_You killed me again?!?!?_"

"Ummm.... technically no..."

"Detective!" Mikar shouted over the view screen.

"Yes, sir. Resurrection worked as expected."

"Good. Your trial will be announced soon. And I expect the report by tomorrow."

"Signing off, sir." Birdy didn't want to hear anymore. "And YOU. Why did you give away our secret to your family...?"

"I didn't mean it. How was I supposed to know it would trigger when I got mad? I wonder if I can do it now that you're conscious..."

"Try it, and I'll be willing to risk court-martial for killing you again."

"Never mind."

"You get to explain the whole thing fully, and then I'll erase their memories." Birdy grinned evilly.

"If you're going to erase their memories, why do I have to explain?!"

"I want to see you suffer, Tsutomu." She narrowed her eyes.

~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~

w00000000t! I'm done!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!! *dances around* May the flaming commence!!!! And gomen nasai for breaking the highest rule of fanfic writing: Taking too bloody long. It was school, and stress, and all kinds of useless excuses that you shouldn't really believe! So, what is your final ruling, all who actually give a rat's rear end and actually remembered this fic? Take as long as you want, Lord knows I did. :p Rest & Relaxation for me, Read & Review for you.


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